Electric signal-lamp.



' L. P. WAGNER. I ELECTRIC SIGNAL LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-17.1916- Patented Apr. 2, 1918.-

LOUISA P. WAGNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL-LAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

Application filed November 17, 1916.- Serial No. 181,977.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUISA P. W'AGNER, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of'the city of New York,,in the county of the Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Signal-Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in signal lamps for automobiles and particularly to that class of such lamps which give a signal to the trafiic in the rear of the car, of the direction in which the driver of the automobile intends to turn his car.

It is the object of this invention to provide a lamp or fixture for this purpose of utmost simplicity in design and operation; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter described and set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which,

1 Figure 1 is a front elevation of my signal amp.

Fig. 2, is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a slde elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is a detail showing the attachment of the operating means for my signal lamp to the dashboard and steering apparatus of an automobile.

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the pilot lamps.

Fig. 6, is a plan of the push-buttons of the snap-switches, operating pilot and signal lamps.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the housing of the snap switches.

Similar characters of reference indicate the same parts throughout the various figures.

My signal lamp consists of an elongated casing 1 which may preferably be constructed of a'plate of sheet metal, bent intosuch shape that the rear part of said casing assumes a semicylindrical or parabolic shape at l te forma reflector, for which purpose the inside may be suitably enameled or' plated. The longitudinal edges of plate 1 are bent inwardly at a right angle to form ledges 1 adapted for the attachment of the front or lens-plate 2. The ends or vertical sides of the casing are formed by plates 1,

soldered or otherwise joined to plate 1 in any suitable manner. The interior of the casing so formed is divided into a number of compartments by vertical, opaque division plates 3 of which two are shown on the drawing. The lens, plate 2 consists of a rec-' tangular plate, whose edges are bent, or otherwise provided with flanges 2, extending away from he late and forming a right angle with it, to t over the edges of the casing. Plate 2 is provided with'three open ings, arrangedconcentric with each of the compartments of the casin and ,each of.

these openings is provided with a refractory lens, 3 3? 3. Each of the compartments -accommodates an electric signal lamp, 4, 4 4, by means of a socket, which is supported by an inlet nipple. lamps 4 and 4 pass through the end plates 1 referably through anaperture arranged central to the semicircle of their shape. The

inlet nipple for lamp 4 of the middle com- The inlet nipples forpartment, passes through'an aperture'in the v curved part 1 of plate 1 in axial alinement with the lens of the middle compartment.

The walls of the casing are reinforced at the inlet apertures for these niplples by reinforcing plates 5 and these are eld by spherical supports, 6, 6", 6. The spherical supports 6* and 6 of the end compartments, are joined to the support 6 ,'of the middle compartment by tubular members 7 bent to orm acurve at the corners of the casing.

Support 6 is provided with an extension' tube 8, arranged in'alin'ement with the socket of lamp 4. outer end, a'flange 9 which serves to fasten the signal lamp box to the rear board 10 of This extension carries at its an automobile body, in suitable manner. The

cuit with a small pilot lamp, 10, 10", 10,

and a snap switch 11, 11, 11. 'These pilot lamps are fastened to a small board 12 which is preferably arranged on the dash-board of the automobile, in front of the steering wheel, .to be in plain, view of the driver. The snap switches are preferably held in a suitablehousing 13 which is fastened to the The three lenses are preferably made of'difsteering wheel support asshown in Fig. 4.

ferent colored glass, for instance 3 on the left side green, 3 inthe middle red and 3 white. The pilot lamp which is in the same j circuit is colored the same as its signal lamp.

In operation nay-signal device voperates as follows:

Should the operator of the automobile wish to turn his car to the left, he would Y press button l1 which. light the signal lighting thereb lamp 4 and pilot lamp 10 and should he esire to turn to the right he Would press button 11 lighting lamp 4: pilot lamp 10. In every case a different colored light Will indicate to the traflicin the rear of his car the direction he intends to. take, while the pilot lamp will indicate to the driver which of the lamps is lighted in the rear of his car.

While other devices to give similar signals, have been constructed, the advantages of my device are to be found in the sim-I plicit of its arrangement, and its attachattachment tor the signal lamps to the car to be made at flange 9. The curved tubular members which incase'the conductors serve also as supports for the casing-giving a somewhat elastic but steady support for the same, particularly because each one of the lamp? and compartments is, independently of t eothers, connected to the supporting bracket, and the center nipple at 6 holds the casing from turning about supports 6 ment to the automobile; as there is only one "pluralit and 6 and serves to strengthen the casing from bending and vibrating in its, central part,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1., A- signal prising a casing rectangular in longitudinal section and U- haped in transversesection, transverse plates at the ends and within said casing, to form a plurality of compartments, an electric lamp supported in each compartment, a tubular bracket partly surrounding said casing, tubular connecting members exending through the end plates to the lamp in each end comp'art'ment,'a tubular member extending through the curved side of an intermediate compartment to connect the lamp in said intermediate compartment with said bracket, a common support attached to said bracket to connect said casing to the body of an automobile and'means to-seleCtively illuminate the lamp, in each coin artment.

2. In a signal lampfor auto obiles, a U shaped casing consisting of a pla eforming the top, rear and bottom of said casing, a of transverse plates; at the ends and wit in said casing to form a number of compartments,a cover plate adapted to fit over the front opening of said casing, apertures in said cover plate, concentrically ar- 4 ranged with each of said compartments, a refractory lens supported in each of said apertures, a tubular'member forming a single support for said casing and inlet connections from said tubular member'to each of said compartments. v

- LOUISA P. WAGNER.

lamp for automobiles com- 

